Tiverton, Ontario: A report released September 8 concludes that Bruce Power’s unique structure has helped Ontario achieve a number of key goals, including keeping electricity prices low for families and businesses, helping ensure Ontarians have clean air to breathe while injecting more than $10 billion of private investment into public assets without impacting the province’s balance sheet in the process.
“When this structure was unveiled 15 years ago, critics warned safety would suffer, jobs would be cut and environmental issues would be ignored. History has proven those critics wrong,” said Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power President and CEO. “We have an industry-leading safety record, strong operational performance and have hired more than 3,100 people, while our multi-billion dollar investment to renew Ontario’s nuclear fleet has helped the province phase-out coal in the process.”
“I’m not sure you could find a better example of a PPP anywhere in the world,” he said at a breakfast talk September 9, hosted by The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships.
Not only has Bruce Power provided 70% of the energy needed to allow the province to discontinue the use of coal, Mr. Hawthorne said, but Bruce Power’s refurbishing and continued operation of all eight units has had a revivifying effect on the local community. Young people can remain in, or come back to the community in the knowledge of a secure job and housing prices have risen again.
Bruce Power’s Public-Private Partnership was recognized by CCPPP in 2001 as the winner of its Gold Award for Infrastructure in the National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships.